Fluid treatment apparatus



Sept. 12, 1939. F. a. BARCLAY ET AL FLUID TREATMENT APPARATUS wmg Filed July 8, 1937 Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATE NT OFFICE FLUID TREATMENT APPARATUS Application July8, 1937, Serial No. 152,571

6 Claims.

This invention relates-toimprovements iniFluid treatment apparatus andit consists -of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

5 One of the objects of the invention isto provide apparatus of this kind wherein untreated fluid as it discharges into means for holding the treated fluid-causes adischarge of a reagent from a supply thereoi into said means to mix .10 with the fluid therein for treatment purposes.

Another object of the invention is to :provide apparatus of this :kindwhereinuntreated water, as it is discharging into a reservoir, causes a continuous flow of a reagent into the reservoir 15 so long as the untreated water :is discharging thereinto.

A further objectof -the invention is IOTIJIOVidG an apparatus of this kind .which may be applied to a locomotive tenderaso as to feed areagent 20 into the tank thereof when the tender is taking water.

Again, it is an object :of the inventionato provide apparatus of this kind, which is of .simple constructionfor low production :cost and is effi- 25 eient and automatic in its operation toaproportionately feed reagent material so long as uptreated water is running intocthe tank of a locomotive tender orother means forholding the treated water.

39 The above mentioned objects of theinvention,

as well as others, together with the several ':advantages thereof will -more fully appear .as the specification proceeds.

In the drawing: I

Fig. 1 isalongitudinal verticalsectional view through the top end portion of 2a locomotivetender tank to which the improved apparatus has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a vertical detail sectional view on an 40 enlarged scale as taken on the line 2-2 .of Fig. 1 with the parts in a changed position 'from'that appearing in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a certain valve actuating lever member'embodied'in the appara- 45 tus and which will'be more fully referred to later.

The improved apparatus is :herein illustrated and is herein described asembodied-in a locomotive tender for treating the water supplied to'the reservoir or tank thereof witha proportioned amount of reagent, but this is to be considered only in the illustrative sense and not by way of limitation.

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompany- 55 ing drawing, 5indicatesas-awhole-'the top horizontal wall of the reservoir or tank of a locomotive tender of conventional construction and having a water inlet or manhole 6 provided with a cover I. Also mounted on the wall 5 is a container or holder 8 for a supply of reagent adapted .5 to be discharged into the reservoir or tank, as will later appear. As shown herein, said holder, which is adapted to hold a reagent in liquid or fluid form, has a cover '9.

The bottom wall H] of the reagent container is :10 preferably inclined as shown in Fig. 1 and a sleeve or thimble H is arranged between the lower end of said inclined bottom wall and the tank top, axially with respect to a valve seat l2 formed in said bottom wall and an opening l3 formed H1115 the tank top. A U shaped bracket I4 is secured to the underside of the tank top beneath said sleeve.

I 5 indicates an upright valve stem that has sliding guided bearing in the opening l3 and:- bracket M respectively, the stem being of such length as to extend a suitable distance below the bracket. The top end of said stem is formed as a head I6 normally to engage the valve seat 12. The stem has an axial bore I! with a lateral liq-L let port 18 at the top below the valve head and with laterally extending discharge ports l9 near its bottom end. A helical expansion spring 29 surrounds that part of the valve stem between the underside of the tank top and a Washer 2l 30 on said stem, the latter being held in place by a pin 22. It is apparent that the spring 2!! operates normally to hold the valve stem in a position wherein its head'engages on the seat l2 to close off communication between the reagent holder 8 and the interior of the tank. When the valve stem is raised against the action of the spring, to a height wherein the port i8 is disposed in a plane above the valve seat, reagent may flow from the holder into the port I8 .40 through passage l1 and out or" the outlet ports l9 to discharge into the tank.

Associated with the valve mechanism described is a means which is responsive to the flow of untreated water into the tank to hold the valveopen so long as untreated water flows into the tank. As shown herein, said means comprises a lever 23 arranged within the tank and pivoted at a point 2d between its ends to a bracket 25 depending from the tank top at a point between the water inlet 6 and the valve mechanism before described. As shown herein the lever 23 has a short load arm 25 and a longer power arm 21, the free end of which. is widened out into a paddle shape .as appearsin Fig. 3. .The load arm 25 of .55

the actuating lever engages the bottom end of the valve stem l5 while the paddle-like end of the longer arm of the lever is disposed partly in that area as defined by the inlet 6 for the tank. 7 If desired, a heating coil 28 may be provided in the bottom end of the tank. This coil is adapted for a valved connection at one end with a source of steam from the associated locomotive. The other end of this coil is arranged to pass through the bottom wall of the holder 8 and the top wall 5 of the tank to discharge into the interior of the latter. The purpose of this coil is to prevent freezing of liquid reagent in the holder 8 during low atmospheric temperatures.

Assume that the holder 8 contains a supply of liquid reagent. Assume also that the supply of treated water in the tender tank has reached a level requiring taking on more water. a wayside tank or other source of untreated water supply, the cover 1 is opened and untreated water is discharged through the inlet 6 into the tender tank as from a penstock or the like. With the paddle-like end of the lever 23 arranged as described, the water discharging through said inlet impinges upon said lever end to swing it downwardly and the lever arm 26 upwardly. By reason of the engagement of said arm 26 with the bottom end of the valve stem 15, as before described, this lifts the valve stem upwardly against the action of the spring 20 to raise the valve head l6 off the seat l2.

At this time, the inlet port N3 of the valve stem is arranged in a position above the seat 52 as appears in Fig. 2 so that reagent may flow by gravity from the holder 8 through the valve stem and into the tender tank. It is apparent that so long as water is flowing into the tank, the valve remains open for a continuous discharge of reagent into the tank so'that the reagent is proportioned or metered with respect to the water flowing into the tank. The volume of flow, of untreated water into the tank is usually quite high so as to produce a turbulence in the water 'in the tank to intimately and thoroughly mix with the reagent flowing thereinto to provide the treated water.

As soon as the desired water level has been reached in the tender tank, the untreated water is shut ofi. When this occurs, the spring 2i? operates to move the valve stem l5 downwardly to engage the valve head IS on the seat l2 and to restore the lever 23 to its original position. When the valve head IE is engaged on the seat, this closes off the passage of reagent from the holder 8 into the interior of the tank.

It is apparent that each time the tender tank receives water, there is a continuous flow of reagent, in proper proportion, into the tank and this proportion is determined by the size of the inlet orifice 18. So soon as the discharge of untreated water into the tank is discontinued, the flow of reagent into said tank also ceases.

The improved apparatus is automatic in the proportioning of reagent, is simple in construction for low cost production and may be readily installed in locomotive tenders already in service.

While in describing our invention, we have referred in detail to the form, arrangement and construction of the parts involved therein, the same is to be considered only in the illustrative sense so that we do not wish to be limited thereto except as may be specifically set forth in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a treatment apparatus of the kind de- When at scribed, in combination with a locomotive tender tank for holding treated water and having a top wall with an inlet opening for the discharge of untreatedwater thereinto, means for holding a supply of reagent at an elevation above said tender tank, means providing a passage between said tank and reagent holding means, a valve for controlling said passage, and means in said tank providing a pivoted lever having one end operatively disposed with respect to said valve and having its other end disposed beneath and in line with said opening, and means associated with said other end of the lever to increase its area for engagement by the discharge of untreated water into said tank to open the valve. 7 2. In a treatment apparatus of the kind described, means providing a reservoir for holding treated water and formed to receive the discharge of untreated water thereinto, means for holding a supply of reagent at an elevation above the reservoir, means providing a passage between said reservoir and reagent holding means, means providing a valve seat in said passage, a valve stem in said passage and having a head at one end engaged on said seat, means associated with said stem for holding the same with its head engaged on said seat to normally close off said passage, and means responsive to the untreated water while it is being discharged into the reservoir for actuating the valve stem to open said passage for the discharge of reagent from said holding means into the reservoir.

3. In .a treatment apparatus of the kind described, means providing a reservoir for holding treated water and formed to receive the discharge of untreated Water thereinto, means for holding a supply'of reagent at an elevation above the reservoir, means providing a passage between said reservoir and reagent holding means, said passage having a valve seat at its top end, a. valve for controlling said passage and including a valve stem having a head for engagement upon said seat and a portion extending into said reservoir, said stem having a passageway therein with one end opening into the reservoir and the other end normally disposed below said seat, means associated with said stem for holding said head engaged upon said seat, and means responsive to the untreated water, while it is being discharged into said reservoir for lifting the valve stem to provide a communication for the top end of the passageway therein with said reagent supply.

4. In a treatment apparatus of the kind described, in combination, a locomotive tender having a tank adapted to hold the treated water and having a filling opening in its top Wall to receive the discharge of untreated water thereinto, means providing a reagent supply supported upon said top wall, means providing a passage between said tank and said supply means, a valve mechanism normally closing oif said passage, means providing a lever pivotally mounted at its mid portion within the tender and having one end operatively connected to said valve mechanism and having its other end so disposed with respect to the filler opening as to be depressed by the untreated water discharged therethrough to open and to hold said valve mechanism open so long as untreated water is being discharged into the tank.

5. In a fluid treating apparatus, a reservoir for holding the treated fluid and having a filling opening in its top for the discharge of untreated fluid thereinto, a second reservoir for holding a reagent and arranged above the first mentioned one, means providing a passageway connecting said reservoirs, a valve seat in said passageway, a valve member associated with said passageway and including a stem projecting into the first mentioned reservoir, a head on said stem normally engaged on said seat to close off said passageway, and a two arm lever arranged in the first mentioned reservoir and pivoted at a point between its ends therein, one arm of said lever being disposed to operatively engage said stem and the other arm of said lever having a part disposed beneath said filling opening so as to be engaged by the untreated fluid as it is discharging through said opening into said first mentioned reservoir, to actuate said valve member to open said passageway.

6. In a treatment apparatus of the kind described, a reservoir for holding the treated water and having a filling opening through which untreated water may be discharged into the reservoir, means for holding a supply of reagent, means providing a passage for connecting said supply with said reservoir, means for controlling said passage, means in said reservoir providing a pivotally mounted, two arm lever having one arm arranged in operative relation to said controlling means and having a portion of its other arm disposed beneath said filling opening to be engaged by the water discharged therethrough into the reservoir for actuating said passage controlling means, and means for increasing the effective superficial area of said arm portion for engagement by the water discharged through the filling opening into the reservoir.

FRANK B. BARCLAY. HENRY E. MAY, JR. 

